iQuit : HP in the Post-PC Era

Abstract

Throughout the years, scholars and researchers have focused on the fundamental question of how firms manage to develop and sustain competitive advantages in rapidly changing environments. Going further than established theories, the Dynamic Capabilities view emerged as an attempt to better explain how firms can cope with exogenous shocks, through four distinct dimensions. In this dissertation, I have developed a teaching case, which aims to illustrate the Dynamic Capabilities theory and its real-life implications. The selected company is Hewlett-Packard, which was confronted with a technological shock that transformed the PC industry. The company did not successfully adapt and this has led to tumbling results and falling hopes for the future of the still world leading PC maker. Throughout this case, it will be evident the company’s lack of Dynamic Capabilities and how that has affected its final fate.